We are finally here, in the city where we were to spend almost the entire summer! First impressions are lasting, as they say, right? Well, the palm trees, the sun, and the wide smiles of those who greeted us did the trick. In the first few minutes, it wasn't clear: what now? Then, out of nowhere, a guy approaches, confidently handing us flyers and starts talking busily. Now, this is what we were prepared for! "No, thank you. We don't need any assistance," I cut him off. And as I was about to throw the flyer away, I saw the InterExchange logo on it. Seeing that the guy was already leading several students to a car, we ran to him, apologizing for the misunderstanding.

Destination: the office. After finishing with the I-94 and other necessary documents, and leaving our luggage at the office, we bought bicycles and went looking for housing ads. Oh, where didn't we go: to the African American neighborhood, to the Ukrainian militia members with their corresponding flags on doors and windows, and to drug addicts. Wildly exhausted from the unusual physical exertion and the heat, we stopped at a motel where our only neighbors were other Work and Travel USA students. And the best part... a 3-minute walk away - the Atlantic Ocean!!! Leaving our bags, we ran to the beach. The ocean water was salty but clearly beneficial (which becomes noticeable after a week or two). No one was swimming - everyone was catching waves :) Due to the abundance of tourists, there is practically no space on the beach during peak tanning hours. Book ahead? No, just catch the sunrise on the beach :) On the way home, we met three boys aged 8-9. Nothing remarkable, you might think, and we thought so too. Suddenly, we heard a whistle from the little ones who had barely finished 1st grade and the phrase, "Chinese, chinese! Look at this!" From that day on, at work and in everyday life, we had to explain more than once that Kazakhstan is not China, etc.

First day of work. And why is everything at such huge distances? We rode our bikes to the workplace for 40 minutes under the scorching sun. After introducing ourselves, we received t-shirts and instructions... BUSSERS?! (table cleaners). The offer said: hostess. Instead of the promised $4.50 + tips for a hostess position, they decided to pay us $4.50 without tips for a busser position! Uniform: extra mini shorts and a bright red t-shirt with a low neckline. We didn't sign up for this. After quitting the next day, we didn't know what to do. After walking around 20 blocks near our house, we found a job at a pizzeria with a wonderful manager named Tanya. Following her instructions, we went straight to Bank of America to get cards. Funnily enough, I went there without my documents - I had to go back. Afterward, in a hurry, we went to another town, Conway, to get our SSC, without telling InterExchange about quitting (we were afraid we wouldn't get the SSC). By the way, we later regretted this very much.

Salary! First thing on the list: shopping! The three of us, along with our roommate, armed with Google Maps, rushed to TJ Maxx (a wonderful chain of stores with brand-name items at great prices). We got there in exactly 8 minutes. Getting stuck there, we were the last to leave at 10:15 PM. Happy, we headed home. But 20 minutes later, we found ourselves on a huge highway with forests stretching on both sides. Where are we? According to the map, the direction is correct, but why is the route different? Why are we in ANOTHER CITY? Signs saying "Welcome to..." testified to this. So we visited 2 more towns, not understanding what to do now. Cars could be counted on one hand, and there were no pedestrians. Highway, highway, highway... 1:30 AM. Hungry, exhausted by the road and the bicycles, we saw a McDonald's. They wouldn't let us in! They said through the window that they only take orders from drivers in cars. I have never seen worse discrimination. But knowing how to stand up for our rights, we managed to get the manager to serve us, albeit reluctantly. Regaining some strength, I decided to re-enter our home address, and we set off. On the bus, we were discussing some establishments on the way to the city. That saved us! We were heading in the opposite direction! Remembering this, I double-checked the address, being sure that Google couldn't be wrong. And it turned out the mistake was in the ZIP-code! Remember that you must enter it! Because there are convenient streets with identical names (15th Ave, 16th Ave, Kings Hwy). And similar, even identical intersections can be in several cities in a row! Realizing what was wrong, we got home at 3 AM with triumphant faces :)

Long-awaited SSC! Now we can look for a second job. After asking around among students, I found one in a flash - 2 minutes from home. Bicycles were no longer needed, and we sold them for $50 each. Now my schedule was crazy: from 11 AM to 5 PM at the pizzeria - pizzamaker, from 8 PM to 5 AM at a cafe - cashier. A plus was free fast food in both places. By the way, we and our neighbors always treated each other to food from our workplaces. It turned out to be more varied that way :) A week later, we still bought a bike from an African American - a colleague of our neighbor for $20. Obviously, it was stolen. Not even a week later, my friend called from work - the bike had been stolen. The next day, leaving my second job, I caught the thief with our bike. It was the same African American -__- My indignation knew no bounds! Amazed by the impudence of the seller-thief, I tried to prove to him that the bike was ours (our lock was hanging on it, which I unlocked as proof). Watching this, the boss came out and called me over. Once inside, I heard a speech about how one shouldn't mess with "them" (the boss was a racist, and towards me too, as it turned out later), saying that if you get the bike back now, you won't come home tomorrow... I had to accept it. (But this doesn't mean you should be afraid of everyone, it was just a minor incident. In reality, police and medical workers in the States are responsible and punctual. I was convinced of this when an acquaintance was saved after losing 3 liters of blood as a result of a workplace injury, with help arriving within 2 minutes). In the pizzeria, there was one day off, in the cafe - none, despite all my pleas. After 2 weeks, I fell asleep at work. That was the breaking point. I just didn't show up for work, saying I felt unwell. Result: the boss's message "YOU ARE FIRED."

Rejoicing that I had plenty of time, I went to the mall. After making some small purchases and enjoying the life of a tourist, I ran into a girl kindly offering me a hair mask. Having been a promoter myself, I made it a habit never to brush them off. The girl was clearly a master of her craft :) Within 5 minutes, the Colombian girl was demonstrating a great styler on my hair. Finding out the purpose of my visit to the USA, she offered me a job similar to hers - doing demos and selling stylers, as well as cosmetics and skincare products. I suggested it to my friend, and here we were - a brand new position - sales consultant :) The training was funny. Our boss accompanied every girl with an unusual comment. For example: "Hey, Beyonce, what do you do with your hair?", "Hm, beautiful, excuse me, can I ask you?" etc. It took a lot of effort to overcome my Eastern mentality, and, being a girl, to cast aside shyness and awkwardness, and learn to strike up a conversation with girls to subsequently sell them my products... During the break, I would run through the boutiques, already knowing almost by heart when new collections would arrive. And no cleaning or serving! And most importantly - a huge step forward in practicing English! Analyzing everything, now, looking ahead, I will say: "This was the best job during my entire stay in America" :)

After some time, InterExchange called, demanding an explanation for quitting the first job and immediately finding an offer that they would approve. They found out after all :( The pizzeria was met with a refusal without naming a reason. Every day, on foot in the heat, in a storm under a downpour - in search of work. End of June, no vacancies, or no offer provided. Messages about the possibility of deportation started coming in. Nerves, quarrels with my friend, searches, fear, parental lectures... temperature 39, a sore throat... What kind of searching could I do? Status in SEVIS - determinate. Giving up, I didn't imagine how I would look into my mother's eyes...

HOORAY! My friend found a job for both of us! It's an amusement park! I just love children! The manager, understanding the situation, gave us offers immediately. But for obvious reasons, I started work later. On a nasty and wet day. The downpour was incredible, and I, not having checked the weather forecast, wore shorts, a tank top, and ballet flats, which I regretted. Entering the manager's office, I expected to be sent home, but a very plump lady with an unpleasantly wide-stretched smile volunteered to give me a tour. Water flooded everything. Not just my clothes, my shoes could be wrung out. And she, in her raincoat and heavy boots, stomped loudly through the puddles and told me what a wonderful park they had :D To my indignation about the weather, she replied with one sentence that all employees, in particular us, had to hear until the end of the summer: "Family Kingdom has no bad weather!" There was so much patriotism in those 6 words that I was stunned and remained silent until the end of the tour, amazed at how sincerely Americans believe in the system and how selflessly they obey it...

The offer was approved. And my hard labor began, exactly hard labor, since my lot was an attraction right under the sun, without any canopies. Sunstrokes? Red face and body along the lines of the uniform? I am familiar with that. Status in SEVIS is Active again. The summer continues. By the way, we started missing our food and occasionally cooking something tasty :) The weekly changing schedule didn't allow us to make plans, have a second job, or attend concerts (Jay-Z & Beyonce, Eminem & Rihanna, LP, Drake - everything was missed). Our stay in the States was at stake. Therefore, in storms and heat, we were at our workplaces. Of course, on our days off, we went to the movies, relaxed on the beach, went shopping, and visited small attractions of this wonderful tourist town, Myrtle Beach :) A plus from the fact that we changed so many jobs was the huge number of friends and acquaintances with whom we still keep in touch to this day :)